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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

MLB capsules: Jean Segura takes Edwin Diaz deep in 9th as Phillies sweep Mets

Philadelphia Phillies' Jean Segura, right, and Maikel Franco celebrate after Segura hit a game-winning three-run home run off New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz during the ninth inning Thursday in Philadelphia. (Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA – Jean Segura had no problem with three water coolers being dumped on his head after a big hit off his former teammate.

Segura belted a three-run, walk-off homer against Edwin Diaz moments after Maikel Franco hit a tying, two-run shot against the closer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 6-3 Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.

New York’s Todd Frazier hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Hector Neris with one out in the ninth, but the Phillies rallied in the bottom of the inning – their fourth straight win since utility man Brad Miller brought a bamboo plant into the clubhouse as a good-luck charm.

Diaz (1-5) walked Cesar Hernandez to start, and Franco followed with his third homer of the series. He hit go-ahead, two-run homers in each of the first two games. Pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez walked with one out and advanced to second on Scott Kingery’s hard-hit, bad-hop single off Frazier’s glove at third.

Segura then ripped his 10th homer into the seats in left. He leaped on his way down the first base line, got mobbed by teammates after circling the bases and was showered by sports drinks and water.

“I’ll take 10,” he said. “The guys are having fun, so I’ll take that.”

Segura played for the Mariners last season, leading the major leagues with 57 saves.

“That guy last year was incredible,” Segura said. “The fastball is his best pitch, so when you come to the plate, you look for his fastball.”

It was Philadelphia’s first four-game sweep against the Mets since Aug. 27-30, 2007. That season, they overcame a seven-game deficit with 17 remaining to edge the Mets on the final day of the regular season for their first of five straight NL East titles.

Diaz has allowed at least a run in three of his past five appearances, and his ERA ballooned to 4.94. The All-Star closer is in his first season since being acquired from the Mariners for a package of prospects. He’s blown four saves this season, one shy of his career high.

Rays 5, Twins 2 (18)

MINNEAPOLIS – Yandy Diaz hit a sacrifice fly for Tampa Bay in the 18th inning to break a tie that lasted since the second, and the Rays finally pulled away from Minnesota, avoiding being swept in a series by the Twins for the first time in 13 years.

Ryan Yarbrough (7-3), the eighth reliever and the 22nd player used by the Rays during the game that lasted 5:42 after rain delayed the first pitch by 57 minutes, threw three scoreless innings for the victory.

After the first eight relievers for the Twins allowed just two hits over a combined 10 innings, Ryne Harper (3-1) faltered in the 18th while pitching for the third straight game and the sixth time in the past 10 days.

Cubs 9, Braves 7

CHICAGO – Craig Kimbrel dodged trouble for a save in his season debut when new teammate Anthony Rizzo dived into first base for the final out, and Chicago rallied from five runs down to beat Atlanta.

Called up from Triple-A earlier in the day, Kimbrel struck out Brian McCann looking and induced a groundout from Johan Camargo to start the ninth inning. Ronald Acuna Jr. then doubled into Wrigley Field’s ivy, and Dansby Swanson walked on four pitches. Freddie Freeman grounded sharply down the first base line, and Rizzo fielded and had to dive for the bag to beat Freeman.

Kimbrel earn his 334th career save and did it against his original team. The Cubs finalized a $43 million, three-year contract with 31-year-old free agent on June 7, then sent the right-hander to the minors to get himself ready.

Victor Caratini’s two-run homer capped the Cubs’ four-run fifth inning that put them ahead for good. Kyle Schwarber also went deep for the Chicago, which got three RBIs from Jason Heyward on a warm day at Wrigley Field with steady wind blowing out to left.

Angels 8, Athletics 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Shoehi Ohtani and Kole Calhoun each hit two-run homers, Griffin Canning allowed only three hits over six innings and Los Angeles beat Oakland for its fourth straight win.

Both homers were to center field and came on sinker pitches by Tanner Anderson (0-3). Calhoun’s drive gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead in the second. Ohtani’s shot came during a five-run third that broke the game open.

Canning (3-4) surrendered both his runs on solo shots. Ramon Laureano lined a slider over the wall in left-center in the second and Matt Olson connected on a fastball in the fourth.

The right-hander struck out six and worked at least six innings for the sixth time in 11 starts.

Luis Rengifo had three hits, including a two-run single in the third that chased Anderson, who had his shortest outing in four major-league starts. The right-hander went 2 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs and eight hits.

Pirates 10, Astros 0

HOUSTON – Josh Bell homered for the second straight game as one of five home runs by Pittsburgh as the Pirates routed the Houston Astros for the second game.

Former Astro Joe Musgrove (6-7) threw six scoreless innings for the win and Kevin Newman, Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte and Jacob Stallings added home runs for the Pirates to send Houston to its ninth loss in 11 games.

The Pirates picked up where they left off in Wednesday night’s 14-2 rout of Houston when Newman sent Brad Peacock’s first pitch of the game into the seats in left field for his first career leadoff homer. He has a career-long 17-game hitting streak, which is the longest active streak in the majors.

Houston starter Brad Peacock (6-6) allowed six runs in three innings, a game after Framber Valdez also made an early exit after the Pirates jumped on him for six runs through the first three.

Dodgers 12, Rockies 8

DENVER – Chris Taylor drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single as part of a four-run ninth, Max Muncy hit two of Los Angeles’ six homers and the Dodgers won their 12th consecutive game against Colorado.

It was another late-inning win over the Rockies for the Dodgers, who also got a three-run homer from pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez in the ninth. Los Angeles won three straight home games against Colorado last weekend – all in walk-off fashion.

Taylor delivered his fourth hit of the game, a one-out single off Wade Davis (1-3) that dropped over the head of first baseman Daniel Murphy.

Pedro Baez (3-2) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win. Kenley Jansen struck out Garrett Hampson to end the game with two on in a non-save situation.

The baseball was flying around Coors Field, with the teams combining for 33 hits in the first of a four-game set. In the last series at the hitter-friendly park, the Padres and Rockies set a modern-era record by combining for 92 runs in a four-game series.

Muncy had a two-run homer in the seventh and a solo shot in the second, one pitch after Cody Bellinger homered. Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner had back-to-back homers in the fifth.

This marks the second-longest losing streak to one team in Rockies history. Colorado dropped 16 straight to Atlanta from 1993-94.

Diamondbacks 5, Giants 1

SAN FRANCISCO – Nick Ahmed hit a go-ahead home run leading off the fifth, Carson Kelly added a two-run shot in the seventh to help Alex Young win his major league debut, and Arizona beat San Francisco.

Young (1-0), called up from Triple-A Reno to get his first shot, allowed two hits and one run, struck out five with one walk in five innings.

Christian Walker’s RBI groundout put Arizona ahead in the fourth. Brandon Belt tied it leading off the bottom half with his 10th home run.

The Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in five games following a six-game skid, extending their winning streak at San Francisco to five.

Tyler Beede (1-3) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. The Giants had gone 5-1 in his starts this year, but he didn’t get any support..

Arizona’s strong showing away from Chase Field continued with its eighth victory in the last 11 road games.

Rangers 3, Tigers 1

DETROIT – Joey Gallo hit two solo homers and Ariel Jurado threw seven shutout innings and Texas completed a three-game sweep of Detroit.

Texas has won five straight games, matching a season high.

Gallo led off the second inning by driving Spencer Turnbull’s pitch deep into the right-field seats. With two outs in the fourth inning, Gallo lined Nick Ramirez’s pitch over the left-field wall. Gallo has 19 homers on the season.

It was Gallo’s eighth multi-homer game and his first since Aug. 8, 2018, against the Seattle Mariners.

The Tigers have lost seven in a row overall, as well as their past seven home games.

Jurado (5-3) allowed six hits as he improved to 4-1 as a starter this season. He struck out four and walked just one. Jurado has won four of his past five decisions.

Nationals 8, Marlins 5

MIAMI – Victor Robles and Matt Adams homered against starter Sandy Alcantara during a five-run sixth that erased a three-run deficit and helped the Nationals to an 8-5 victory and a three-game series sweep.

Juan Soto and Kurt Suzuki also went deep, and Trea Turner had two hits and two stolen bases for the Nationals, who have won 8 of 10 and have climbed from 19-31 on May 23 to reach .500.

Stephen Strasburg (9-4) won his 10th straight decision against Miami after allowing four runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out four on a season-high 111 pitches. He hasn’t lost to Miami since 2015.

Adams hit a three-run shot for the second straight night, this time tying the game at 4. He has hit six home runs with 16 RBI in his last 10 games.